Similar to every college and university campus, there are personnel working to keep the students’ safety in mind. One administrator that has climbed the ranks and is new in his role this year at Morningside College is Brett Lyon.

Brett Lyon is a 2004 graduate from Morningside College where he majored in criminal justice. He later went on to graduate and earn his degree in business in 2012 and is a semester away from obtaining his masters degree.

Lyon served as Morningside’s Assistant Director of Campus Safety and Security for nine years and is currently the Director of Campus Safety and Security after his promotion in June. “I enjoy working at Morningside College. From the students to the faculty, we are like a big family,” Lyon said.

A lot of Brett Lyon’s job is bettering the atmosphere of campus. “Sioux City is attracting more people over time. Different crimes elevate at different times and we are fortunate enough that we don’t have a high (crime) rate compared to other schools.” Morningside College doesn’t see a lot of crime on campus, but the biggest crime there is, is vandalism. Whether it is in the dorms or to vehicles.

Further aspects of Lyon’s job include coordinating training sessions, guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA), working with his student staff, corresponding with administration, full time officer, and directing the assistant director of safety and security.

Assistant Director, Jimmy Murphy, joined Morningside’s Campus Safety and Security team in July; Murphy is also an employee with the Nebraska and South Dakota Police Departments.

A vast role Lyon plays in his job is hiring and administering over his student officers. The student staff includes twenty students that work various hours throughout the day. Lyon’s student staffs go through various training workshops he organizes. “CPR, first aid, active shooter training, as well as 40 hours of training, they are all important for our staff. Then they know how to react in various situations.”

With the campus shootings that are happening across the nation, Lyon is taking precautions. “My main priority is to ensure that we have a safe campus and that means we train and educated the faculty, staff, and students.”

Lyon oversees all aspects of safety and security on campus. This could range from armed assailant to safety issues such as icy sidewalks and record keeping.

Student officer, Christopher Van Horn has been employed with Campus Safety and Security for a year now and feels comfortable with his position as a student officer. Van Horn stated, “Brett does well with staff. We are prepared for situations that we encounter.” When asked about the various tasks Van Horn deals with he stated, “A huge part of our job is locking up building, escorting students with injuries around campus, and dealing with or writing parking tickets.”

Parking tickets have been a controversial issue on campus. Lyon doesn’t see this changing anytime soon. “Parking has been an issue since I was a student. The problem is everyone wants to park wherever, whenever and be as close to the building as possible,” Lyon stated.

As a student, Van Horn’s take is writing parking tickets is necessary. “Brett does well displaying the regulations for parking and whether people pay attention or not is on them.” Parking tickets can be avoided by following the regulations displayed and sent out via email. Parking regulations are instilled to help the campus run efficiently.

Efficiency is a key role in Lyon’s plan for success as he goes into his new role as Director of Campus Safety and Security.